


To Be A Captain

by MelodicMars



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Captain!Hongjoong, Captain!Seonghwa, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, FirstMate!Wooyoung, Fluff, Jongho is a precious sweetheart, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Not Canon Compliant, PilotHybrid!Yunho, Science Fiction, Siren!San, Space Pirates, We Would Be Savage, but he does, seonghwa doesnt think he deserves to be loved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:01:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23447437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodicMars/pseuds/MelodicMars
Summary: It's been a lot time since Seonghwa joined ATEEZ's crew, and somewhere along the way Seonghwa found himself falling in love. But there's no way Hongjoong would ever see him as anything more, right? Is he even a friend in Hongjoong's eyes? Doubtful. He'd never feel the same way about Seonghwa.a.k.a. Seonghwa thinks he's unloveable, but really ATEEZ's crew had accepted him as one of their own a long time ago. Featuring some Yeosang being useless at love but Jongho knowing what to do.
Relationships: Choi Jongho/Kang Yeosang, Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 12
Kudos: 194
Collections: We Would Be Savage: The Treasure Room





	To Be A Captain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [0KKULTiC](https://archiveofourown.org/users/0KKULTiC/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Intro: Long Journey](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18546733) by [0KKULTiC](https://archiveofourown.org/users/0KKULTiC/pseuds/0KKULTiC). 



> [0KKULTiC](https://archiveofourown.org/users/0KKULTiC/pseuds/0KKULTiC) has allowed me to write in her universe?? Ahhh an honour. This is set in her [We Would Be Savage](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1339036) series, but it's just me mucking about in her sandbox. It's not canon to her series, and I have no idea where she's taking it but I do look forward to finding out! I had this idea though, so enjoy~

Seonghwa stops at the door frame, admiring the way his captain, no,  _ co-captain  _ now, works. Joong had dyed his hair a vibrant red at their last stop. The starlight from the window reflects perfectly, and Seonghwa’s breath catches in his throat. He’s a lucky man. His boyfriend looks absolutely ethereal bathed in light, face scrunched in concentration. Hwa takes just a few more seconds to stare before clearing his throat and speaking.

“Hongjoong, it’s late. You’ve been here for ages.”

“Mhm. I still can’t figure out how to open this thing.”

“You need to sleep.”

“So do you,” Hongjoong counters.

Seonghwa sighs. “Come on, you’re not going to solve anything this way.”

Hongjoong glares up at him. Frustration is clearly written across his face. “We’ve had this box for over a goddamn week and we still can’t figure out how to get it open. This is the last thing we need for the compass to be complete.” 

“I know, Joongie. But you need to rest. We’ll keep working at it tomorrow, okay? Together.”

Anger melts off his face and Hongjoong pouts, making grabby hands at Seonghwa. “Fine, just give me a few more minutes, you go to bed first.”

With just a few strides Seonghwa wraps his arms around Joong. He places a gentle kiss on top of his head. “I better see you soon or I’ll come back and drag you to our bed myself, and it’s not going to be in a sexy way.”

“Don’t you worry, Prettyboy. I’ll be there,” Hongjoong says with his face buried in Hwa’s chest, voice muffled. 

Satisfied, Seonghwa steps back and gives Hongjoong a quick peck on the lips. They linger for a moment staring into each other's eyes, then he retreats back to their room. It had been ridiculously easy to remove the wall between their previously separate bedrooms, creating a much larger space. Hongjoong had left it to Seonghwa after the movie to go work on the box. Seonghwa goes through his night routine and slips under the covers, leaving the nightlight on for Hongjoong. From the side he lays on, he can see out the window into the massive expanse of space. 

Seonghwa had wanted to be a captain and explore space from when he was a little kid. Never for even a second had he wavered in that dream until Hongjoong came along. When Hongjoong told him that they were leaving him, he froze. It was at that moment that he realized somewhere along the way his dream had changed. He no longer wished to drag them back to jail, nor to return to the Coalition and try to reestablish himself enough to become a captain. He only wished to be part of Ateez’s crew, to belong with them like he saw them belong so well with each other. And maybe, just maybe, find the Treasure too. Hongjoong was his captain, and he accepted that. He would follow Hongjoong to the ends of the universe. He  _ had _ followed Hongjoong to the ends of the universe. Never had he thought his childhood dream would come true along the way. 

The bed dipped beside him, shaking him out of his thoughts. Seonghwa rolled over, coming face to face with Hongjoong’s smiling face.

“Goodnight, Minihong,” Seonghwa says, a dumb grin spreading across his face.

Hongjoong reaches over him to turn off the light. “Goodnight, Captain Mars.”

Hongjoong relaxes into him, both of them shuffling around a bit to get comfortable. In doing so, Seonghwa bumps into the Compass on the nightstand, and it rolls off. It lands on the ground with a thump, flickering. A projection appears, and both Hongjoong and Seonghwa shoot up to watch it, eyes riveted on the flickering image. They call out for the crew, most members arriving as it steadies, and the voice of Captain Maddox starts to speak. 

“Look around you. Did you find your dream? Did you find your tre…”

-

“...asure this moment, Yeosang,” Jongho grumbles. “It’s never going to happen again.”

Yeo giggles at their sulking youngest. “You wanna go again right now?”

Jongho huffs. “No. You’re cheating. How is arm wrestling with a  _ luzidium _ arm—luzidium that you somehow  _ stabilized _ at that—in any way fair.”

“So you admit I’m stronger?”

“No!”

Jongho leaps over the small table, tackling Yeosang to the ground. Yeosang quickly slips out from under him while Jongho is still off balance and flips them over, firmly pinning him to the ground. Yeo’s hair falls into his eyes. Jongho reaches up to brush it away, only realizing what he was doing as his hand brushes Yeosang’s face. Yeosang’s lips part to say something and it suddenly hits Jongho how close their faces are. 

It’s at that moment Hongjoong walks through the door yelling something over his shoulder. He almost trips over the two of them on the floor, jumping back in surprise when he spots them.

“Ya, Jongho! Yeosang!” he yelps. “I thought we weren’t pairing off! And you literally just came to me to complain about Yunho and Mingi!”

Yeosang all but leaps off of Jongho, face completely flushed. Jongho scrambles to his feet, staring daggers at Hongjoong.

“We weren’t doing anything!” he protests.

Hongjoong says nothing, only raising his eyebrows.

“And even if we were, who does that leave you with? Park Seonghwa? Or, Officer  _ Prettyboy,  _ as you call him?” Yeosang says, still red but smirking.

At that, Hongjoong sputters. “I mean I know he’s pretty and attractive and his hair and everything about him is just so perfect and he’s hot when he’s mad but that doesn’t mean I want to sleep with him!”

“Everything that just came out of your mouth says otherwise, Captain.” Jongho deadpans. “And plus, no one said anything about  _ sleeping together.  _ You put that one out there yourself.”

Hongjoong sputters even more. “No that’s- I wouldn’t want to be with an asshole like him anyway! You know what, I’m done with this conversation. You two can go back to sucking face for all I care!” 

Yeosang and Jongho watch as he disappears through the other door. 

“So… abou-” Jongho starts.

“You know, he got a lot more flustered than I thought he would,” Yeosang comments, cutting off Jongho. A quick glance over shows that Yeo had obviously heard him, now avoiding his eyes. 

“Yeosang. We should ta-”

“I just remembered, I need to go do some repairs on one of my drones. Bye, Jongho,” Yeo squeaks out.

It’s a flimsy excuse, one Jongho sees right through. For just a second, he entertains the thought of grabbing Yeosang and pressing him into the wall. Instead, he watches Yeosang go, deciding to drop the subject for now.

-

Yeosang avoids Jongho for the rest of the day, but Jongho doesn’t bring it up when they cross paths the next day, nor the one after that, and Yeosang relaxes. Neither of them say anything, and Hongjoong definitely doesn’t either, probably to avoid Seonghwa being brought up again. In fact, it doesn’t get brought up again for ages until he and Seonghwa are engaged in a game of chess. 

Seonghwa plays the familiar sicilian defense, and Yeosang debates opening with d4 on their next game, but no doubt Seonghwa knows how to tango. It doesn’t matter by mid-game anyway, both of them are good enough players to make it into the endgame. It’s as the pieces reset that Seonghwa springs the question on him. 

“Why haven’t you talked to Jongho?”

Startled, Yeosang whips his head up to look at Seonghwa. “What do you mean? I talk to Jongho.”

Seonghwa switches his gaze from the pieces shuffling around the virtual board to Yeosang. He stares steadily into Yeosang’s eyes as he speaks. “That’s not what I meant. You know what I’m talking about.”

“I.. really don’t,” Yeosang tries to fake. He does  _ not  _ want to even go near what that day was with a ten foot stick. Feelings are… Well, they’re messy. And he doesn’t want them.

“You love him.” It’s not a question. Seonghwa states it as a fact, and Yeosang knows he’s right. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t try to dodge it.

“I love all of you. Jongho, Hongjoong, Mingi and Yunho, San and Wooyoung,  _ you. _ I love all of Ateez’s crew, you know that.”

Seonghwa looks away with a long suffering sigh, then levels his stare at Yeosang. “Fine then, you, Kang Yeosang, are  _ in love with _ Choi Jongho.”

Yeosang can feel himself coming apart under Seonghwa’s scrutiny. He opens his mouth to deny it, to protest, to say anything, but nothing comes out.

“Why won’t you talk to him, Yeosang? You know he’s waiting for you?”

“I- I know but-” Yeosang desperately fishes for words. He says the first thing that comes to mind to get Seonghwa off his back. “You’re in love with Hongjoong. Why haven’t you talked to him?”

Seonghwa just arches an eyebrow. “Really, Sangie?  _ That’s  _ what you came up with to change the subject? As if it didn’t only take us like two months after I joined the crew to establish that. One, he’s our captain. Two, after all the shit I did, there’s no way he’d love me back. Three, even if he did, I wouldn’t deserve him, and he deserves someone much better than me.”

“He does love you though.”

Seonghwa scoffs. “No, he doesn’t, Yeosang. Maybe one day as a good friend, but he will never see me as anything more.”

“One day? He loves you as much as the rest of us!”

“He cares for me, Yeosang. He loves you all much more.” Yeosang starts to protest, but Seonghwa raises his hand, stopping him. “Don’t, Yeosang. I know how you feel about it, but you were the only one who treated me differently from the start. I may have earned the trust, and perhaps friendship, of everyone else, but I do not have a connection with the rest of them as I have with you.”

Yeosang knew Seonghwa would’ve been right if they had been talking about a different crew member. But it was clear that Hongjoong’s connection to Seonghwa had started much earlier his, and ran much deeper. If the two of them would only acknowledge it, they could set the world aflame and everyone would be powerless against them. Not that he was saying they would, of course. It just hurts that Seonghwa still thinks everyone else thinks so little of him. 

“Pawn to d4.” It’s clear that Seonghwa is done talking.

“Knight to f6.” Well, it takes two to tango. Yeosang supposes the ball is in Seonghwa’s court.

-

Jongho and Mingi are just idly chatting when Yeosang passes by. Jongho manages to not break off mid sentence, but his eyes instantly dart over to Yeosang, tracking his movement around the room. Mingi easily follows his gaze, and the second Yeo leaves the room he speaks.

“You like him,” he says.

“As if that’s news.” Jongho lets out a terse laugh. “And for the record, you’re wrong. I don’t just like him, I’m in love with him.”

“Oh. So why don’t you tell him?”

“You think I haven’t tried? You and Yunho were lucky, Mingi. The same with San and Wooyoung. All of you started by acting on attraction, you were never just friends first. Yeosang runs away every time I try to bring up the moment it was obvious that feelings changed. Our friendship is valuable to me. I wouldn’t risk throwing it away for just a chance at something more.”

Mingi blinks. “I didn’t expect that. I can’t say I agree, but I can understand. I still think you should talk to him though.”

“Some things don’t need to be spoken to be understood,” Jongho says. “It’s okay, Mingi. Don’t worry about it.”

The conversation moves on, but Yeosang doesn’t. They’d started talking before he was out of earshot, and he couldn’t help but stay. As Jongho and Mingi go off on another tangent, Yeosang stands just behind the door frame, stunned. 

-

The compass spits out another set of coordinates, and they follow them. They manage to retrieve another piece, but along the way Yunho and Wooyoung get injured. Wooyoung takes the brunt of it, Yunho barely getting the unconscious first mate out. By the time they return to the ship, Yunho is barely conscious, passing out the second he gets in the medbay. Neither of them wake that day, nor the next, or the one after that. Each night, Seonghwa finds Hongjoong sobbing in the cockpit. The first two times, he quietly backs out, but it hurts so much to see Hongjoong faking a smile and giving reassurance to everyone else, pretending he isn’t breaking inside each time morning comes. 

The third night, despite his doubts, Seonghwa sits down beside Hongjoong. He offers his companionship and for the second time in his life, begs before the captain.

“Please, Hongjoong. Let me take part of the weight. I can take over some of your duties. You can be strong for the rest of the crew, I know they need it. But I’m older than you, you can lean on me.”

Puffy, red eyes turn to Seonghwa, and in an instant he finds himself with a lapful of Hongjoong. Tentatively, Seonghwa wraps his arms around him. Hongjoong shifts closer without saying anything, just burying his face in Seonghwa’s shirt and crying into his chest. Slowly, the sobs quiet, and Seonghwa looks down to find Hongjoong asleep. Silent tears still leak from the corners of his closed eyes, and Seonghwa brushes them away. Unsure of what else to do, Seonghwa carries Hongjoong to the captain’s quarters and tucks him into bed. He takes a second to watch, heart aching for his hurting friend, before flicking off the light and returning to his own room, turning in for the night.

The next morning, Hongjoong greets him with a raspy thank you. He nods in acknowledgement as the rest of the crew file in, and they carry on with their daily duties. Without a word, Seonghwa takes over the dash as Hongjoong distributes tasks. Everyone else disperses, and Hongjoong joins him.

“Seonghwa. It’s alright, I can d-”

“Let me, Hongjoong. They’ve got everything covered.”

Hongjoong gives in with much less of a fight than Hwa expected, a testament of how exhausted he must be. Not much conversation happens, only exchanging words to operate the ship, but it’s not awkward. As night falls, Hongjoong slowly drifts off, head falling to rest on Seonghwa’s arm. It startles Seonghwa, pulling him from his thoughts. Just like the night before, Hwa picks up the captain and brings him to bed. This time, Hongjoong wakes as he’s being tucked in. He blinks sleepily up at Seonghwa, and reaches out for him. 

“Stay?”

Agreement falls from his lips before he can stop himself. “Okay.”

Hongjoong lifts up the blanket and pats the bed.

Wait. “Oh. Uh-” Seonghwa stammers.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to,” Hongjoong quickly says, but his face falls.

“No, it’s- I’ll just go get my pajamas.” 

Joong’s face brightens again, and he looks down distastefully at his own jeans and sweatshirt. “I’ll change too.”

Seonghwa hurriedly retreats from Hongjoong’s room, leaning against the wall outside. His heart is pounding. A few deep breaths later, he manages to find his pajamas and change into them, knocking before slipping back into the captain’s quarters. 

Hongjoong is already under the blankets, and he shifts to make space when Seonghwa comes back. Tentatively, Seonghwa slips in beside Hongjoong. 

“Tell me a story?” Hongjoong asks. 

Hwa flicks the light off. “What kind of story?”

“What were you like? Before you ended up dragged along with us?”

Seonghwa thinks for a second. “There once was… a little boy who dreamed of space. Let’s call him Mars.”

A soft laugh comes from Hongjoong. “It’s your name backwards. I never thought of that.”

“Yeah.” Seonghwa cracks a smile in the dark. “I’m still partially attached to that nickname.”

“Continue the story,” Hongjoong prompts.

“Just like so many other little kids, Mars wanted to fly across the universe, and find the Treasure. As he got older, his interest in the story faded, but his love for space never did. He wanted nothing more than to be the best captain there ever was, to be remembered as a legend for saving people. Somewhere along the line, he lost track of his original intent to save people, too focused on chasing the title of Captain Mars. And… only recently has that changed again. Part of him still wants to be Captain Mars, but it’s not important anymore. He has an amazing captain of his own, and people that see him not as competition or an enemy, but a friend.”

Right when Seonghwa starts to think Hongjoong must have drifted off, a whisper comes from beside him.

“Thank you.”

It takes Seonghwa a beat too long to respond, Hongjoong’s breathing changes, actually asleep this time. 

He whispers into the dark room. “Anything for you.”

And it’s true. Before this, he never would have admitted it, but from the moment Hongjoong had let him aboard, Seonghwa knew without a doubt that he’d go to hell and back for the captain.

-

Everyone breathes a sigh of relief when Yunho wakes, but a stronger undercurrent of worry for Wooyoung is apparent too. If it took Yunho that long to wake, then how long will Wooyoung take? Having been affected much more, will he wake at all? But they can’t think like that. 

And as much as he worries for Wooyoung, a more selfish part of Seonghwa is caught up on the fact that now Hongjoong will go to Yunho, rather than him. Hongjoong had taken to sleeping in Seonghwa’s room, but this night he was nowhere to be seen. Unable to sleep, Seonghwa gets up with a sigh and heads towards the common area, intending to make a cup of tea and just sit for a bit. He doesn’t expect to see Hongjoong at all, much less laying with his head in Yunho’s lap. Their lips move in hushed conversation that he can’t hear from where he stands. He turns on his heel and heads straight back to his room. It had been foolish of him to think of himself as Hongjoong’s first choice in confidant. Rest does not come easy to him, tossing and turning before falling into a fitful sleep. 

The compass gives them another set of coordinates, and San stays behind with Wooyoung. Seonghwa puts that night behind him. With Wooyoung still unconscious, someone needs to act as first mate. No one else takes up the responsibility, and Seonghwa easily falls into that role. It’s never explicitly said by anyone, but they all follow his orders without hesitation, just as they’d obey Hongjoong or Wooyoung.

Without much fanfare, they find a box. Was this… the Treasure? All too quickly, another log from Captain Maddox appeared. No, it isn’t the Treasure, but he assures them that it is, in fact, the last piece of the compass. The log disappears, and they all stare at the box. 

“Open it,” Yunho says breathlessly. 

“Wait,” Seonghwa snaps. “We don’t know what it does.”

It’s too late. Hongjoong already has his hands on the latch. It takes only a split second for Seonghwa to jerk into motion, reaching to stop Hongjoong. The latch doesn’t budge. Seonghwa stops with his hand gripping Hongjoong’s arm.

“That was foolish,” Seonghwa grits out, heart pounding.

Hongjoong brushes him off with a frown. “What the hell, it’s not opening. Plus, it’s fine, Seonghwa. Nothing happened and I doubt anything will.”

“Pass it here,” Jongho said.

Hwa snatches the box as Hongjoong makes to pass it to Jongho.

“Hey! What’s your problem, Seonghwa?” Joong cries out. The crew makes similar indignant noises.

Seonghwa looks at them all incredulously. “Need I remind you that Wooyoung is still in the medbay, unconscious?” he says, voice hard. “We didn’t think anything would happen then either.”

Everyone flinches back, Hongjoong especially, looks stricken. 

“I- Shit, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” Hongjoong says.

“You’re lucky nothing happened when you touched it. Who knows what it would do if we opened it?”

Seonghwa turned the box over in his hands. He hadn’t actually gotten a good look at it yet, and now it seemed quite plain. As he flipped it around, quiet rattling could be heard. Without even realizing it, his fingers slide toward the latch, pushing. It doesn’t budge, and he pushes harder. 

“Seonghwa!” 

The sharp call of his name breaks his concentration, and Hongjoong smacks his hands away. Hwa snaps back to attention, horrified at what he’d almost done. It dawns on him rapidly. The box crashes into the floor as he lets go. Before any of the other members can pick it up, he strips off his jacket and throws it over.

“Don’t touch it.”

Everyone else quickly catches on too, and they bring it back to the ship, keeping it covered even when they set it in a corner. San runs up to them with the news that Wooyoung is awake. His eyes are shiny with tears, but he’s smiling so brightly. In an instant they rush to the medbay, crowding around Wooyoung’s bed. Woo looks up at them with a grin, and even Seonghwa finds himself nearly crying. 

-

Wooyoung is back up and moving after just a day, to everyone’s delight. The box is forgotten for a few days, but Yeosang’s gaze keeps straying to it, as does everyone else’s. It’s definitely noticed by Hongjoong, who calls a team meeting. 

“Alright, we need to decide what to do about the box.”

“We need to open it.” An immediate response from Wooyoung.

“Definitely not,” San counters. “It’s already doing  _ something _ while closed.”

Wooyoung is adamant. “That’s exactly why we need to open it! 

Yeosang internally debates it. Captain Maddox and the Compass have never led them wrong before. And if this was really the last piece then they can’t very well give up now.

His quiet but steady voice cuts through the heated discussion. “We need to open it. There’s no other choice for us to make.” He continues before anyone can start arguing again. “What else would we do? We’ve come so far.”

Immediate agreement comes from Woo. Hongjoong nods along too.

“Dammit, Wooyoung! What if you get hurt again?” San snaps.

Hongjoong cuts in. “I’ll do it. No one else touches it until we figure out what it does.”

As much as Yeosang wants to argue, Hongjoong’s voice brokers no argument. 

“Before you all go, there’s actually one more thing I wanted to discuss with you all. I’ve talked this over with Wooyoung and Yunho, and both of them are in agreement with me.” The two nod. “So, I hope you all will agree with me too.”

“We all know I was… out of commission for a while,” Wooyoung says. “During that time, a lot of extra work got piled on our captain, even more so when Yunho was still unconscious too. I know you all did some extra duties where you could, but no doubt there was still much left on Hongjoong’s plate.”

Yeosang looks down, guilt washing over him for not doing more. Around him, similar expressions cross everyone’s face.

Hongjoong’s voice is gentle when he speaks again. “We’re not saying that to make any of you feel bad. All of you went beyond what was ever expected of you. But what we’re getting at is… Well, I know we never officially named a temporary first mate, but I think we all know that Seonghwa stepped into that role, and he was good at it.”

Yeosang’s eyes flick to Seonghwa, who sits with a careful blank expression.

“Beyond that though, he took some of my duties, and I am so grateful for it.”

Hongjoong sends Seonghwa a soft smile, and Hwa’s expression becomes less guarded, nodding in acknowledgement.

“He led beside me, like another captain. And I know you all agree with me that he did it well, because you followed without hesitation. So, Seonghwa. If you accept, I’d be honoured to have you at my side as co-captain.”

Seonghwa is frozen, stuttering but no words coming out. Yeosang quickly looks around at the crew. There’s some semblance of surprise on everyone’s face, except for Woo, Hongjoong, and Yunho. However, Yeosang is happy to see that no one seems to have any objections. When surprise fades, clear approval shows through from everyone.

“I would- love to,” Seonghwa chokes out. His voice shakes slightly, and he looks around with apprehension. “Do you guys…”

“You have my full support and approval,” Mingi is quick to say. Everyone else chimes in with agreement.

“You led well.”

“I agree.”

“We trust you.”

Seonghwa blinks rapidly and Yeosang sees tears in the corners of his eyes. 

“Thank you."

-

As the meeting disperses, Seonghwa makes to head back to his quarters to process, and maybe also cry a little. A hand catches his sleeve at the doorway and he turns back around.

“Wait, Seonghwa. I um- I have one more question for you,” Joong says, looking extremely nervous.

“Yeah?” Hwa replies, not sure if he wants to know the question if it has Hongjoong like that.

Hongjoong half starts a sentence, and hesitates. He shakes his head. “Nevermind, forget about it.”

Seonghwa frowns. “You can tell me if something is wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong, it doesn’t matter.”

Seonghwa grabs Hongjoong before he can leave. “Hongjoong.”

He looks up at Seonghwa, barely meeting his eyes and then looking past his shoulder. Seonghwa can’t help but drop his gaze to Hongjoong’s lips when he wets them. He snaps his eyes back up. Thankfully Hongjoong still isn’t looking directly at him. 

“Seonghwa… before I say anything else I want you to know your position as captain still stands regardless. I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything.” Hongjoong takes a deep breath and barrels on. “Will you be my boyfriend?”

For the second time in an hour, Seonghwa is stunned.

“Why me?” he asks suspiciously.

Hongjoong blinks, looking surprised by the question.

“Because you’re a good person. And… you’ve helped me a lot. I feel comforted when you’re there. Not to mention, you’re attractive too,” he answers easily, smiling.

Seonghwa scoffed at the thought of Hongjoong calling him a good person after everything. He would quickly be disappointed.

“No, Hongjoong.”

The smile falls off, and Joong’s face drops.

“I’m sorry, I thought you felt the same way. I- um. I’ll go now.”

Seonghwa’s grip loosens, and he watches as Hongjoong all but flees. This is better for Hongjoong, he tells himself. With a sigh he heads to his room too. Hongjoong’s door is closed when he passes, and he hears sniffling from inside. Wasn’t that what he was trying to avoid? And yet the first thing he did was hurt Hongjoong. A selfish part of him wants to go to Hongjoong, but he shakes his head and continues into his own room. At least this way it would end here, he couldn’t hurt Hongjoong more if there was nothing to refuse. Seonghwa lays down and tries to sort through his thoughts, but Hongjoong’s crying still filters through the wall. 

He can’t take this. Hearing Hongjoong cry because of something he did shreds his self resolve. Seonghwa goes and knocks on Hongjoong’s door. 

“Not right now.” Hongjoong’s voice shakes.

“It’s Seonghwa.”

Silence.

“I’m sorry, Hongjoong. Can I come in?”

More silence. Seonghwa prepares himself to beg for the third time in his life.

“Please, Hongjoong. I ju-”

The door opens. Hongjoong looks at him with teary eyes, but his voice is emotionless.

“What do you want, Seonghwa?”

“You weren’t wrong. I’m sorry. I do feel the same way I just didn’t want to disappoint you. But in doing so I hurt you. I’m not a good person. And this is selfish of me, but please, forgive me. I want to be with you, but I’m not good enough for you. You deserve someone so much better.” 

Only the apology was meant to be said. But once the first few words come out Seonghwa finds the rest of it tumbling out too. All of a sudden, Hongjoong is in tears again and Hwa panics.

“No no no, please don’t cry. What did I do this time? I’m sorry.”

“How can you say that about yourself?” Hongjoong asks through his tears.

It hits Seonghwa then that this time Hongjoong is crying for him.

“We came from different worlds, and you’re the one who came around to see mine when I refused to understand yours. You’ve saved this crew countless times. You’ve saved me countless times. Even if we had a rough start, you’ve done so much good for everyone. Don’t you ever dare say you aren’t good enough again!”

Seonghwa brushes away Hongjoong’s tears and pulls him close, just as he’d done for so many nights. “I’m so sorry.”

Hongjoong pulls away just enough to ask him to stay, and Seonghwa agrees as he always does, and always will.

-

Yeosang makes his way across the ship. He does need to talk to Jongho. The door of Hongjoong’s room is open when he passes by, and he takes a quick peek in. Seonghwa, surprisingly, is there. Well, it is the captains’ quarters after all, Yeosang snickers to himself. The two are wrapped up in blankets on the bed, watching a movie. Seonghwa turns and kisses Hongjoong so delicately, and when they pull away they look at each other with such tenderness. Yeosang quickly moves on, feeling like an intruder. He finds Jongho looking at one of the route maps.

“Hey.”

Jongho turns. “Hey, Yeosang.”

“Can we talk?”

Surprise flits across Jongho’s face. “Sure.”

“I think you know what I want to talk about. I’m sorry for avoiding it for so long,” Yeosang starts. He doesn’t know what to say next. “I… I’m not sure where I’m going with this, but I owe you at least a proper conversation.”

Jongho nods. “I’m not one for waxing poetics so I’ll say this simply. I love you, Yeosang. You know that. I’m not saying I’m in love with you—not that I’m saying I’m not. Anyway, you don’t owe me anything, Yeosang. I value our friendship a lot. If talking about feelings is going to change things or make it awkward again, then we don’t have too. I’m happy to just call you my best friend.”

It feels like a huge weight lifting off his chest, and Yeosang lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Thank you.” He takes a second to gather his thoughts. “I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship now.” He pauses. Maybe in the future… “Will you let me know if your feelings change? I’m not asking you to wait, but if you still feel the same…”

“I will.”

A thud comes from the captains’ quarters, and Hongjoong and Seonghwa are yelling for everyone, thankfully after their conversation is over. Jongho and Yeosang sprint towards them without hesitation, arriving just in time as a log starts to play. 

“...ook around you. Did you find your dream? Did you find your treasure?” 

As it continues, the image changes into something they’ve never seen before. All the logs had been Captain Maddox speaking directly to them, but this time it was as if they were seeing his story play out in front of his eyes.

“Yes, we have finally found it. Covering us like the shining light. Setting us free like the winds coming from above. Can you see the changes?”

Clips of Captain Maddox travelling across the galaxy. People they’d never seen before appear and Yeosang can only assume they are Captain Maddox’s crew.

“Let us continue to hope and yearn. Through the roaring winds, continue to blow. It will not stop us. We are the history. And we will be the one. Can you hear those voices?”

The video montage ends with a clip of Captain Maddox and his crew together. Yeosang realizes it holds startling similarity to the way the crew of Ateez is gathered right now. As Captain Maddox told them, Yeosang looks around at the people who have become his family, his home. 

He thinks of messing around with Jongho, and then Jongho telling him that no matter what, he loves Yeosang. He thinks of his discussions with Seonghwa. He thinks of the way San and Wooyoung sometimes bicker, but always stay close, and of how affectionate Yunho and Mingi are. He thinks of the tender looks their two captains share, and the easy camaraderie the whole crew has. And he thinks that maybe, regardless of whether or not it is the Treasure, they  _ have _ found a treasure in each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope my version of the characters' she's made don't feel too OOC. Let me know what you thought, any feedback is appreciated! You can find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/MelodicMars) @MelodicMars


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